Information is complex and the complexity of the information is often difficult to convey in a simple, clear and precise manner. Standard techniques used for conveying complex concepts to people are standard tools such as presentation software or drawing tools. A drawback with this approach is that a) the complex information is abstracted to such a high level that the complexity is lost and the concepts are incorrectly conveyed or b) the presentation or drawing material comprises too much information and the reader can not understand the information and becomes frustrated.
Another problem occurs when trying to comprehend and/or visualize data in a storage and retrieval device, particularly with respect to semantically rich information. Again this is a very complex environment comprising thousands of data elements which are all linked to each other in some form or another. It is difficult to ‘make sense’ of this information in an easy manner and often complex tools are used in order to manipulate the data into some meaningful form. The information is also difficult to share with others. The information can be split into smaller data elements but then this loses the benefit of storing the semantically rich information in a storage and retrieval mechanism, such as, an inventory or database.
Thus there is a need in the art to find a means to convey complex information to users in a clear and concise manner.